FBI: Chinese Researcher Charged for Smuggling E. Coli; Trump Heads to NC | NTD News Today (Dec. 19)

and welcome to NTD News Today. Here are today's top stories. Police say the suspect in last week's shooting at Brown University was found dead in New Hampshire. Now they're saying he's also responsible for the killing of an MIT professor just days after the incident. How an anonymous tip led authorities to identify the suspect. President Trump set to make an announcement on lowering drug prices. What we could expect from the White House. A Wisconsin judge is found guilty of helping an illegal immigrant evade federal authorities. Officials say the verdict shows nobody is above the law. Tik Tok has agreed to sell about 80% of its US assets to a group of American investors as the threat of closing the company's US operations looms. Russia's President Vladimir Putin said he's ready for peace talks to end the war in Ukraine while asserting URussian forces maintain the strategic initiative on the battlefield. This is NTD News Today live from our global headquarters in New York City. Today is Friday, December 19th. I'm Paul Greeny. Great to have you here. And FBI director Cash Patel says a Chinese postdoal researcher here in America has been charged with smuggling biological materials into the country. In a post on X this morning, Patel said the researcher came to the US on a J1 visa for academic exchange. Patel did not name the university connected to the case, though. He said the researcher researcher smuggled E. coli into America and is accused of making false statements. Patel said the materials were hidden in a package sent from China. The FBI director praised the Indianapolis and Chicago field offices for their work and also thanked US Customs and Border Protection. Patel warned that improperly controlled biological materials could cause serious harm, adding that ecoli could damage US crops and lead to major economic losses. He also urged schools to remain vigilant and follow proper legal procedures, saying researchers must obtain the correct licenses to import these types of biological materials. We'll keep you up to date. President Trump will be announcing new deals to lower drug prices for Americans. numerous international drug makers could be present. The White House says the event is scheduled for 100 p.m. Eastern. In July, Trump sent letters to leaders of 17 major pharmaceutical companies. He outlined how they should provide so-called most favored nation prices here in America. So far, five companies have struck deals with the administration to reign in prices. This means Americans will not pay more than those in other developed nations. Trump has long focused on the disparity between drug prices here in America and other wealthy countries. You can watch Trump's announcement live here on NTD News Today at 100 p.m. So stay tuned. And the Kennedy Center is getting President Trump's name added to it. The board of trustees on Thursday voted to unanimously rename it the Donald J. Trump and the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts. President Trump was elected chair by a newly constitu newly constituted board back in February. The Senate spokeswoman says the vote recognizes that Trump saved the institution from financial ruin and physical destruction. She said the new name reflects the unequivocal bipartisan support for America's cultural center for generations to come. After returning to the White House for a second term, Trump announced a plan for changes to the center. It included removing the existing board of trustees and ousting his chairman, the billionaire philanthropist, David Rubenstein. >> And authorities say the suspect responsible for the deadly Brown shooting is dead. Investigators also saying he killed an MIT professor 2 days after the rampage at Brown. Here's the latest. >> Rhode Island's attorney general said law enforcement late yesterday tracked Portuguese national Claudia Nevs Valente to Salem, New Hampshire. He was the man suspected of killing two students at Brown University last Saturday. It was there inside a storage unit. Authorities say he took his own life with a gun. Providence Mayor Brett Smiley says the outcome means residents can finally be at ease. >> Tonight, our Providence neighbors can finally breathe a little easier, but I want to thank the people of Providence for stepping up, coming together during an extraordinarily difficult time. The AG's office says the suspect was formally charged before his death with two counts of murder and 23 felony counts of assault and firearms offenses. Investigators also accused him of killing Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor Nuno Lorero 2 days after the rampage at Brown. Federal prosecutors say investigators are confident Nez Valente carried out both shootings. law enforcement collectively believe that we have the person that we identified the person and that person is dead. Officials say Nez Valente had academic ties to both Brown University and the MIT professor, attending classes with Lorero in Portugal from 1995 to 2000. Authorities say Nez Valente enrolled in a doctoral program at Brown from which he later withdrew. Mayor Smiley credited the people of Providence, among others, with helping to find Nez Valente. But >> the people at Providence have done what we're best at. We've leaned on one another, come together, and supported one another, and showed the nation what a tight-knit community looks like. >> Police say Nez Valente used his real name when renting a vehicle, later found abandoned in New Hampshire. This was one of the clues that helped authorities identify him. So investigators identified the vehicle that he had rented in Boston and then drove to Rhode Island and he was seen in the vehicle was seen outside of Brown and there was security footage that se that showed a person who resembled him. >> The attorney general also said a key witness helped police review surveillance video and identify Nez Valente. According to police, the witness had several encounters with Neb Valente before the attack. He later posted on Reddit saying he recognized the person in images released by police. Other users encouraged him to tell the FBI, which he eventually says he did. Until then, authorities had not connected the vehicle to the suspected shooter. The motive for the attacks has not yet been made public. >> That is not information that we can share right now, but as soon as that information becomes available, we will share that with the public. And now the suspect's immigration status is drawing national attention. Secretary of Homeland Security Christy Nome says Nez Valente entered the US through the diversity lottery immigrant visa program in 2017 and was later granted a green card. Gnome says she is now directing immigration services to pause the program on President Trump's orders. And Rhode Island Hospital provided an update yesterday on the condition of the students injured during the attack. Of the nine patients treated, a spokesperson said six are in stable condition and three have now been discharged. Two other students, Ella Cook and Mohammed Aziz Amur Zokov were killed. Cook was a sophomore from Alabama. Services will be held at 11:00 a.m. Monday at Cathedral Church of the Advent in Birmingham, Alabama. Um Zokov was in his first semester at Brown University. He was a naturalized citizen from Usbekiststan living in Virginia. His family wanted his body returned to Virginia as soon as possible. And seven people have died, including former NASCAR driver Greg Biffle in a plane crash in North Carolina. The business jet went down yesterday at Statesville Regional Airport just north of Charlotte. Flight tracking data shows the aircraft attempted to return shortly after takeoff amid severe weather. Officials confirm Biffle and his immediate family were among the victims. Biffl was among NASCAR's most prolific drivers. The 55-year-old won 19 Cup Series races over 20 years and his final race was in 2022. In a statement, NASCAR said Biffol gave of himself for the betterment of the community, spending countless hours helping the citizens of North Carolina during the disasters that followed Hurricane Helen. Federal investigators now working to determine what caused the deadly crash. And a jury finds a Wisconsin judge guilty for obstruction over a case involving an illegal immigrant. Hannah Dugan was accused of helping the man evade federal immigration agents outside her courtroom in April. And today's Daniel Monahan has more on the verdict. A jury yesterday found Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan guilty of obstruction, a charge that carries up to 5 years in prison. It also acquitted her of a lesser count, alleging she concealed a person from arrest. Her sentencing date has not been confirmed. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanch reacted to the ruling, saying, "The American people respect law and order and that the Justice Department will hold criminals to account, even those who wear robes." Dugan was arrested in April after allegedly escorting an illegal immigrant, 31-year-old Eduardo Flores Ruiz, out the back door of her courtroom to avoid arrest by immigration agents waiting to detain him. He was arrested in Milwaukee on March 12th over a battery incident and was later charged with misdemeanor counts of battery, domestic abuse, and causing physical harm. Following the incident, Dugan was suspended by Wisconsin Supreme Court and charged with obstructing a proceeding and concealing an individual to prevent his arrest. >> Protesters gathered last week outside the court to support Dugan. It's important to also, I think, make a presence here and let people know that ISIS is not welcome in Milwaukee. So, um I think that's another reason we're out tonight and of course all the atrocities, the brutalities, the overreaches of our government trying to make a scapego, you know, cuz they're um they they want to have free reign. They want to be able to do whatever they want with ICE. ICE people should not ICE officers should not be in the courthouse. They shouldn't be in schools. >> FBI director Cash Patel said back in April that Dugan's actions created increased danger for the public. Patel said he was thankful agents were able to chase down Flores Ruiz on foot. Daniel Monahan, NTD News. And President Trump says he's not ruling out military action against Venezuela. The comments came in an interview with NBC News published today. Trump also said the US could carry out additional seizures of oil tankers near Venezuelan waters. That's following last week's seizure of a sanctioned vessel. He also confirmed ordering a blockade of sanctioned tankers entering or leaving the country. The moves are part of a broader pressure campaign targeting Venezuela through its main source of income. Venezuela's government has accused Washington of trying to overthrow Nicholas Maduro. Trump declined to say whether he aims to remove Maduro, saying the Venezuelan leader knows exactly what he wants. And the US military says it has struck two more boats in the Eastern Pacific, killing five alleged narot terrorists. The military says no US forces were injured during yesterday's operation. Southern Command says the strikes targeted boats linked to designated terrorist organizations operating in international waters. His statement says the Pentagon ordered the operation after intelligence confirmed the vessels were smuggling drugs. The strikes were part of Operation Southern Spear, which under American forces have already struck dozens of alleged narot terror boats in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific. The operation was expanded after the State Department labeled several cartels, foreign terrorist organizations. The designation allowed the military to strike suspected vessels in order to protect national security. And still to come, the big beautiful bill expected to come into effect in 2026. An economist gives us his analysis after the break. Welcome back. I'm Paul Grainy. President Trump is set to visit Rocky Mount, North Carolina today, returning to a city he has visited previously during his presidency. The stop comes as the administration continues to highlight its economic agenda. Trump is said to argue that the economy is poised for a surge. He's argued that his policies are aimed at lowering prices, increasing investment, and boosting domestic production. The visit also takes place in a newly redrawn congressional district in North Carolina where state lawmakers recently adjusted district boundaries ahead of upcoming elections. Rocky Mount is the largest city in the district and Trump's appearance is scheduled for this evening before he travels to Florida for the holiday period. And now a big part of President Trump's economic agenda is the one big beautiful bill. It was signed into law this past summer and should really start to come into play for Americans at the beginning of next year. The Treasury Secretary says you can expect record tax refunds thanks to the bill. And with us now to discuss how the bill could impact your wallet is Christian Briggs, CEO of Hard Asset Management. Christian, happy Friday. Great to see you as always. Christian, the bill locked in, you could say, uh, a higher standard deduction, but 90% of Americans take that standard deduction. Do you think that's the most important or significant part of this bill from a tax perspective? >> Uh well, first of all, great question and thanks for having me. Uh it's a great question and let's talk about that. When you look at some of the basis of where those tax cuts are really going to be formulated, especially in tips for the hospitality and the restaurant or anybody that gets tips, because if you go to Starbucks, tips are now everywhere. If you go to just about any place, you've got tips where you can give as appreciation for great service. And a lot of us do that. Well, think about how much money that is in tax-free status or at least lesser tax rates. On top of that, you've got a spending in the Hispanic community for small businesses. This is one of the best parts of the bill in my opinion. And based on the question you asked is it's going to help every areas of every demographic from the medium to the smallest of businesses because in the Hispanic market there's going to be grants. There's going to be special opportunities for like small business loans. This bill is bigger and better than what most people have ever thought and it's going to add about four to five trillion dollars to the economy in both GDP and that GDP is going to filter down. So both on the top line and the bottom line. And one of the things that I' I've tried to kind of make clear, the stock market is going to go crazy over this bill. So the question you ask is how will this affect everybody? It's going to affect everybody from the very bottom to the very top. >> Uh Christian, as you touched on, it seems like the tax refunds could act sort of like a stimulus come next year. Where do you expect that to show up? >> Okay, good question. And and yes, it is a stimulus. Anytime somebody gets a refund or just a check in the mail, we call it mailbox money, that money is going to go into the economy somewhere. Now, a lot of people may buy a TV, a down payment on a car, or they may put it in the stock market for long-term investing like a 401. Either way, that amount of money, just like President Trump gave the veterans uh $1,776, which by the way was a brilliant number uh in relationship to the country's 250th anniversary, there's going to be a stimulus of at least four to 5 trillion that again will come from checks in the mail, check rebates on taxes, or outright just taxree like on social security and tips and so forth. So, I think the stimulus money, and you make a great word there, stimulus, is going to be filtered everywhere. And don't don't be surprised if you see a four or 5% GDP or more could be more in the third and fourth quarter of 26 that wealth effect will carry to the entire economy. >> That's a significant number Christian if the GDP could hit that kind of uh growth rate that would be incredible especially if inflation continues to come down like we saw in the last um report. Now Christian you brought up the stock market. We know that when the stimulus checks went out during uh the pandemic, the stock market benefited a lot. you're saying with the tax refunds uh it could also benefit. Is there anything else in um this bill that the we could start seeing the effects of in the stock market uh come next year? >> Oh, absolutely. Let's let's talk about what the bill does. It also has a lot of money in for AI adoption and infrastructure. So as we continue to move into an artificial intelligence world which can maximize profits for corporations by lowering the costs of goods. In other words, whatever the that business is, it lowers their operating costs. It puts direct bottomline profits back into the system. Many corporations are now are doing more reinvesting than ever before into whatever the business that they're doing. And I've noticed in in watching this and and getting numbers, the young people that 18, 19, 20 to about 33 are investing more and more today, look at Robin Hood and other applications that they can easily purchase stocks, stocks of which that are starting to come into relevancy. So when you have stimulus money coming into the economy and you have a lot of new generational people and you know generational investors that have more discretionary or more disposable income, we're going to see that reflect in the equities market. Don't be surprised if real estate starts to take a little bit more of a uptick in the second half of this year. But I want to talk about the inflation. We have seen President Trump with some incredible policies. I mean the guy hasn't even been there technically a year and he's already got inflation under control. I'm not and and I want to make sure I'm clear about this. It's not completely there yet, but it's in a it's in a controlled environment. So, you've seen gasoline come down. Gasoline, let's just take oil. Oil itself is made and utilized in every aspect of our economy in our world from manufacturing, distribution, transportation, petrochemicals, they call it upstream, downstream. So, as we continue to see oil kind of find that like $55 to $60 per we see stimulus come in. we see expansion of small business administration loans go four to 6% GDP believe it or not it could happen and I don't think President Trump or our great uh secretary of treasury Scott Bent would say otherwise uh there there's definitely going to be a very good growth opportunity for investors coming in at 26 and 27 and I believe inflation will be tame it's not necessarily out of the woods yet but I believe we've got a somewhat of a handle on it >> well that would be incredible again if they if they hit that number. I like you said, I haven't even heard the Treasury Secretary throw out numbers like this. So, I think it would be a successful on the inflation part to to President Trump's credit. He has said that um energy is a major driver of inflation. Remember Elon Musk was telling him is government spending, government overspending, printing money is the the the primary driver and President Trump would say we also have energy costs. So he has prioritized bringing down these energy costs which we have started to see in oil and and gasoline. Uh Christian, you touched on another interesting point. You brought up AI. I want to talk about jobs and how the the the labor market could be impacted because this bill it also introduces new work requirements for able-bodied people if they want to get benefits like Medicaid. So let's take AI. We hear it's replacing jobs. Trump administration trying to get more people to work. Where do you see this bill having any impact uh on the labor market uh broadly over the next one to three years? >> Okay, let's talk about that. There's been a lot of I would say excitement and fear within the AI community of labor. AI is not going to replace millions of people overnight. The people that it might I would call transition from one industry to another. As those people are transitioned, there's going to be a revolution in demand in labor to make AI even bigger than what it already is planned with these data centers. I was recently talking to uh somebody about the needs of the data centers in the United States and West Texas obviously is getting a lot of it. And this this will go right to your question. There's about 4 to 500,000 people that are needed in the in the United States. Plumbers, uh roofers, glass guys, uh cement guys. We're talking about trade school stuff. We're talking about really smart people that are needed to finish the the buildup. And when I say finish, the finish the buildup could take 10 years. It could take 20 because when you make it, you build it, you've got to maintain it. So, a lot of people are feared that maybe the AI will replace a lot of people. Yes, it's going to transition people from some industries to others. It's going to explode industries that had really been kind of well, lackluster, I guess, in demand. Uh, now you got electricians that are making $300,000 a year if they're willing to work overtime. Well, of course they're going to work overtime for that kind of money. So, I want to make it very clear, AI is going to bring about a $900 billion windfall in corporate profits over the next two years, that's going to transition right into the economy. Number two, the jobs that are not being lost, let's not say lost, but transitioned from A to B to C to D are all going to be within the context of this huge infrastructure. And that's what Trump, President Trump is doing. He's revolutionizing. I like to say he's going from analog to digital. There's no job losses. There's job transitions. Industries like trade schools are blowing up from students. Industries that need those students to become full-fledged trade guys are working. It's it's it's happening. And when and when Secretary of Treasury says we're going to have an explosion in the GDP and Lnik said four to 6%, Trump said explosion, they're not that far off. Now maybe it's three to 4%, four to five, but it's going to be revolutionary. It's going to be strong. >> Well, let's see. Christian, I know there are many people who are not as optimistic as you are on the jobs front with AI and the changes it may bring, but let's wait and see. Uh Christian Briggs, we appreciate it, sir. Have a great weekend. Talk soon. >> My my pleasure. Thank you. And just before leaving for the holiday break, lawmakers approved a bill to address a so-called bureaucratic bottleneck that leads to higher energy costs. Entities Molina Wiseup reports an efforts in the House to cut red tape. The price of home electricity was up by around 7% according to the last report from the Energy Information Association. Experts say the price hike is mainly due to AI projects driving up demand. Republicans are hopeful their solution to cut red tape will effectively lower costs. >> Think about the cost savings that would come if it only takes two years instead of 10 years to build a major project. >> In the last round of voting before the holiday break, lawmakers approved the speed act. That's a bill that aims to speed up the permitting process for energy and infrastructure projects. Though some opposed warned about the environmental impacts. >> The bill takes a sledgehammer to the National Environmental Policy Act. one of our foundational environmental laws. >> Despite the push back, 11 Democrats joined Republicans to push it over the finish line. Supporters say the action is needed because the National Environmental Policy Act is used to abuse power, leading to higher costs for consumers. >> There's a reason everybody's uh utility bills are up, energy costs are high. It's because we've constrained the ability of uh our our states, our communities, businesses to be able to create and provide the ability for us to have power without getting hamstrung into decadesl long disputes and fights going through all of the back channels of a maze of bureaucracy. >> The bill is now awaiting Senate action where it's unlikely to get the handful of Democrat votes needed to make it to the president's desk. And the Senate advanced a large batch of President Trump's nominees as one of its final actions before the break. 97 confirmations passed largely along party lines and filled dozens of vacancies across the federal government. These include assistants, under secretaries, US attorneys, and ambassadors. The move brings the number of Trump's confirmed nominees to 417. Now, Majority Leader John Thun said every president needs to have his team in place to do the job that the American people elected him to do. And a group of lawmakers is urging the Pentagon to list more firms tied to the Chinese military, such as an action would send a message to Pentagon suppliers. Nine Republican members of Congress wrote to the Pentagon yesterday. They asked the department to add Chinese AI firm DeepSeek, smartphone maker Xiaomi, along other side firms to its list of entities allegedly assisting the Chinese military. The list already includes major Chinese firms such as tech giant Tencent and EV battery maker CL. While the list does not formally sanction Chinese firms, it sends a message to Pentagon suppliers and other government agencies about the military's opinion of the firms. And now the latest on the monthsl long tick tock saga. The company has signed a deal to sell most of its US assets to a group of American investors. Tik Tok CEO shared the news with employees in a memo yesterday. Here's the report. Social media giant Tik Tok is selling just over 80% of its US assets in a move to avoid a ban in the country. Chinese owner Bidan said Thursday that it had signed binding agreements with three major investors Oracle, Silverlake and Abu Dhabi based MGX. The deal will create a new US company called Tik Tok USDS joint venture. Bite Dance will retain a stake of just under 20%. The move is a big step to end years of worry about Tik Tok's future in the US. It had faced a ban from January this year under a law requiring it to divest its assets in the country over national security concerns. Donald Trump also tried to ban the app during his first term, but later became a fan, crediting it with helping him win last year's election. He opted to delay the January ban upon taking office this year. The deal's details align with a plan unveiled in September. And still to come, Russian President Vladimir Putin says he's ready for peace talks to end the war in Ukraine while asserting that Russian forces maintain the strategic initiative on the battlefield. still to come. And three people are killed in a knife attack in Taipei. Authorities say the suspect died after falling from a roof during a police chase. I'm Paul Grainy. This is World Watch. President Vladimir Putin addressed the war in Ukraine today at his annual press conference. The Russian leader says he's ready and willing to end the conflict with Ukraine peacefully. >> It is entirely incorrect and unfounded to claim that we reject anything. The ball is entirely in the court of our western opponents, primarily the leaders of the Kiev regime and in this case, first and foremost, their European sponsors. We are ready for both negotiations and a peaceful resolution to the conflict. >> Putin says Moscow's troops were advancing across the battlefield in Ukraine. He says Russian forces have fully seized the strategic initiative and would make more gains by the year's end. Putin also said that a large group of Ukrainian troops is encircled near Kensik. Putin warned earlier this week that Moscow would seek to extend its gains in Ukraine if Kev and his western allies reject the Kremlin's demands. Putin's speech lasted over 4 hours, matching the length of last year's event. And Ukrainian president Vimir Zolinsky is in Poland today rallying support for Keefe. Poland's president said that Zinsk's visit is bad news for Russia. That's because it shows the unity between the countries on strategically important issues. According to the Polish president, the visit is proof that Eastern European countries are on the same page when it comes to security cooperation. Filinsky says Ukraine has valuable experience it can offer its neighbor Poland. Today, Ukraine has the most advanced technologies for protecting people's lives and the strongest capabilities for producing weapons. Weapons that are modern, that are effective. And I offer Poland all this experience. He added that Ukraine could also offer Poland cooperation in maritime security. Zinsky says he's invited Poland's president to Ukraine to see the country's defense manufacturing capabilities. Developing defenses against drones has become a top priority for NATO member countries. In September, Poland reported that 20 Russian drones breached its airspace and similar incidents have reported in countries including Romania, Denmark, and Germany. And a French court has ordered Shien to implement age verification measures for any adult products sold on its French website. The online giant said it faces a fine of $11,000 for any violation. The order came after public uproar over childlike sex dolls sold on its site. The court rejected the French government's request to suspend Shien's website entirely. France's consumer watchdog has also banned weapons for sale on the platform. And an asalent killed three people, wounded five others today during a smoke grenade and knife attack in Taipei. According to local media reports, the suspect threw smoke grenades at the Taipei main subway station near the city's main train station. He reportedly rode the subway line one stop, exited the station, and threw more smoke grenades on the street. Video shows first responders treating the wounded. Police say the suspect was declared dead after jumping from his sixstory department store roof. Incredible. And Secretary of State Marco Rubio held a year-end press conference today to discuss major for foreign policy initiatives. One of the headlines is attention with Venezuela, which Rubio addressed. >> Not only do they not cooperate with us, they openly cooperate with terrorist and and criminal elements. It's not that they don't it's not just that they don't work with us against these organizations, okay? it's that they openly, you know, cooperate with these guys and allow them to operate. So these guys are, you know, you know, marching in and out doing whatever they want from Venezuelan territory and and and it's a challenge and so that's why that's received so much attention, but I would urge you. >> Rubio has said the goal is stability in the region and to protect the United States. He said President Trump was elected to protect the American people and he said he was going to take on the cartels. Ruby also talked about the need for the US to work with China since China is a powerful country and a major factor in geopolitics. And the future of free speech in Europe is in focus at the European Parliament. Lawmakers yesterday debated a new proposal called Democracy Shield as well as a recent fine imposed on Elon Musk's social media company X. NTD's Daniel Mahan spoke with a European attorney for analysis. Supporters of the European Democracy Shield say the initiative aims to strengthen information integrity across Europe by countering so-called disinformation and election interference. The European Partnership for Democracy argues the information space is increasingly targeted by foreign manipulation and the growing influence of major platforms such as X. Earlier this month, the European Commission fined X around $140 million for violating the Digital Services Act. Owner Elon Musk called the penalty politically motivated and an attack on free speech. Irish Commissioner Michael McGrath, who oversees the Democracy Shield, rejected that criticism, saying the policy is designed to protect, not limit free expression. >> Far from being a tool of censorship, it actually by design protects freedom of expression uh within the European Union. And that is fundamentally what our democracy is about. Vibrant and robust debate. These online monopolists are all sitting in the US or China. The only way to protect our public space is to create our own European digital champions that follow our rules. >> But critics in the European Parliament disagree. Criat lawmaker Fidas Paneayo accused the EU of attempting to censor speech online. Our president want to give more power to fact checkers to moderate social media who are nothing else than people with their own biases. >> Paneoto brought up platforms run by mosque and telegram founder Pavl Durovv as models for greater speech freedom. >> Things like community notes have helped to empower the citizens themselves to decide what's right and what's wrong instead of biased fact checkers. So please wondering, let Europeans express themselves freely even if you don't like their opinion. >> Parliament member Milan Mazurik accused the European Commission of punishing national identity and descent. >> Those people want to preserve their countries as they remember them from time they were children. They want to preserve their countries free, independent, safe, clean, and beautiful. They want their countries without hordes of illegal aliens killing and raping women and children in the streets. And they want their countries without daily terrorist attacks. >> Mazoric also accused EU leaders of finding Musk and X because they don't want free speech. Other lawmakers echoed similar concerns. Donald Trump and JD Vance say EU is no longer a democracy. Looking at this case, I'm afraid they are right. Democracy is not endangered by too much debate but by censorship. The European Commission must not become an inquisition policing thoughts. >> Adena Portaro, senior council for Alliance Defending Freedom International says international human rights law requires any limits on free speech to be precise, necessary, and foreseeable. >> Now, this information and information manipulation are clearly not definable concepts. And that means in practice that whoever has the power to define such concepts has the power to define whether you are a law-abiding citizen or a law breaching citizen. >> Bhortaro warns that EU backed fact-checking networks will be able to say what qualifies as acceptable truth undermining open debate. Once such fact checkers are financially dependent on European Commission or the establishment, they will naturally promulgate, they will propose, they will advance the policies of the person or the institution that is funding them. >> She says fact-checking regimes have already shown a pattern of error and selective enforcement. We have repeatedly seen opinions labeled as misinformation or disinformation that later turn out to be medical truth or even very factual um statements. >> Portaro says deplatforming and reputational damage are swift while redress and getting your accounts back is slow. One stated goal of the democracy shield is to prevent foreign election interference. But Portaro says the criteria used to identify such interference are often murky, allowing authorities to reframe domestic disscent as foreign influence. She also warns of governments repurposing security frameworks to suit their agenda, pointing to a special committee established in the European Parliament to investigate foreign interference by China and Russia. But shortly after the creation of this special committee, the committee began having hearings on so-called anti-gender movements, publicly targeting NOS's that advocate for pro-life um policies or for pro- family policies and calling for their exclusion from civic life. Portaro says Europe now faces a choice to either keep treating speech as a risk to mitigate and manage with bureaucratic systems or to reaffirm a free speech culture which trusts citizens to debate, disagree, and confront ideas openly. Daniel Monahan, NTD News. And now for your sports news, we're joined by NTD's Dave Martin. Dave, great to see you as always. Happy Friday. >> Thank you, Paul. Nice of you. >> Yeah, nice one. Uh we've got boxing, big boxing game coming up this evening. But the football yesterday, Seahawks, Rams, incredible. >> That was a wild one for sure. Rams led that game 30-4 there in the fourth quarter and they had the ball less than 10 minutes to play and somehow lost the game. The Seahawks got that very quick punt return for a touchdown right after that and then soon then scored again. Converted one of the most unusual two-point conversions to tie the game. Now, looking at the play live, it looked like it it was a sideways pass that was deflected. But on replay, it was determined that it was a backwards pass and then just casually picked up by running back Zack Charbanet, who just happened to be standing in the end zone. The the players thought it was it was a dead ball. But backwards pass is a live ball. So, it was like a fumble recovery in the end zone. It just the players didn't quite realize at the time on replay. They were like, "All right, that's two-point conversion." That was one of three two-point conversions made by Seattle late in the game there. The final one actually was made in overtime. They won it then 38-37. Now coming in, these two teams were not only tied for the division lead, they had they were tied for the best record in the NFC. So now Seattle's ahead of them, they got a 12-3 record. Rams are 11-4. But you know what? Only the four division winners get the top four seeds in the playoffs. So, the Rams look like they might have to settle for the number five seed despite having the best the second best record in the conference. We got two more weeks to go to still to sort this out. But that's a big win there for Seattle. >> Just when you think you've seen it all, >> I I have never seen a two-point conversion like that before. It was the most bizarre thing. You know, >> college football, Alabama, Oklahoma last night. We've got three more games tomorrow. Uh tonight, actually, Alabama, Oklahoma. What are you looking forward to most? You know, I think there's really two games that all of us, including myself, want to see the most. You know, the first one is the one you just mentioned, Alabama versus Oklahoma. These are two SEC rivals who played earlier in the season. Now, the Sooners won that game, which really catapulted them in back up the playoff rankings. I will grant Alabama pretty much doubled them in total yardage, but the turnover battle was won by Oklahoma, so they won the game there. Now, the other one, Miami versus Texas A&M, which is the first game tomorrow. I I think both these teams really have something to prove. Now, the Hurricanes were somehow put into the playoffs at the last minute over Notre Dame. There's a very controversial last uh minute switch that left the Irish out. I'm sure the Miami would like to, you know, prove I know you're you're unfortunate Irish. They had some they had some bad luck there for once. Terrible. >> So, Miami >> Miami really I think they want to prove they want to prove that they belong in us. Meanwhile, Texas A&M, last time we saw them play, they were like ranked number third. They were undefeated, they lost to their big instate rival, Texas. That not that only not only ended their perfect season, it knocked them out of the SEC title game. So, they've got the bad taste in their mouth for like three weeks right now. So, I really think those two are going to be good games there. The other two games, we got Tain versus Miss tomorrow, James Madison versus Oregon. I think most people believe Miss Oregon are going to win this. >> Any big stars in the college football this year? There's a lot of big stars. We got Fernando Mendoza of Indiana, the Heisman Trophy winner. Now, Indiana though got a buy. The top four seeds. You got Indiana, Ohio State, and now I can't remember the other two. The top four seeds, they'll get the buy for the first round. They then go all the way to the second round, which will be I think it'll be New Year's Eve. I think it is. >> Lot of football. >> Lot of football. >> Big boxing match. Jake Paul, YouTube star now, boxing star, it seems, facing off Anthony Joshua. Pretty scary guy to get into a ring with. >> No kidding. Just looking at the guy, he's 6 foot 624. He's like a he's like an NFL tight end pretty much. Joshua is the heavy favorite, you know. >> Look at the guy. >> He's he's he's 36 years old. So he's 8 years older than Paul. That's about the only advantage that I see Paul having right now. >> He's been around a long time. Anthony Joshua, he's only 36. He's been around a long, long time. He's been around the block. >> He's got experience. 28 and4 record. Paul is just 12-1. much record >> 28-4. Now Paul is 12-1, but this is easily the most difficult opponent he's faced thus far. Plus, Paul usually fights cruiserweight. Cruiserweight is the level right below heavyweight. Cruiserweight is a 200lb weight limit. Heavyweight is undefeated. So unlimited, I should say. So Paul actually was up to 216 for this fight, but that's still a 27 lb, you know, disadvantage if you want to say against Anthony Joshua. And if you saw them at the weigh-in, you can see that height and weight advantage. It's going to be an uphill battle. Now, normally, of course, the younger younger guy usually has a better shot here, but experience >> Tyson versus Paul. You're talking about younger guy. He's only six years. He's only 36. >> Tyson is 60. >> You know, there's heavy betting on Jake Paul. I'm guessing you're not betting on Jake Paul here, though, Paul. >> Look at this guy betting on this guy. The fight is live tonight and it'll be on Netflix, so we'll have to watch it again. >> There you go. Well, let's see. Yeah, let's see. I don't think he stands a chance. >> There you go. That was Dave Martin. Dave, thank you. Any feedback on the show? Something you'd like to see us cover, you can always send us an email news today.com. We'd love to hear from you. President Trump will be announcing new deals to lower drug prices for Americans. Stick around for more on that. 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